Dan’s Pilot Times

This past Thursday (July 3rd) was my Dad’s birthday.  Rather than get him another shirt, tie, or tool he’ll never use, I decided to take him for a flight – the last time he was in a small aircraft was over 30 years ago!  I had to get more simulated instrument time in anyway, so it helped make for a nice smooth flight for my father.  Although I would be flying with my instructor in the right seat (obviously, I don’t have my license yet), my Dad said he had great views from the back seat.  Actually, this was my first time piloting a C-172 as well (which I wanted to get a few hours logged before I finished my training).  So, all-in-all, this was the perfect opportunity to take my Dad up.

The flight went very smoothly.  I was a bit more nervous than usual since I’ve never taken anyone flying besides me or my instructor…but the plane and the weather cooperated.  The sky was beautiful (see some pictures), and we even got to fly over my house.  I could feel that the 172 had more power, especially during takeoff.  The added weight and power helped smooth things out a bit as well during cruise.  However, during my final pattern work at the end of the lesson, I could feel that the heavier plane reacts a bit more sluggishly – nothing big, but definitely noticeable.  It took me 1 landing to get used to it, but by the 2nd (and last) landing of the day, I felt comfortable flying the 172’s the Westosha flying club owns.  I’ll still be mostly piloting the 152 (no need to pay extra for empty seats) for the rest of my training, though.  But, I can’t wait to take my Dad back up just me and him!

I was super proud to have flown well for my Dad, and really glad he had a great time.  Happy Birthday!  This lesson I logged 1.0 hours of total flight time, 0.7 hours of simluated instrument.

Yesterday I had my first taste of flying at night.  It was the coolest/freakiest flying I’ve done so far!  My CFI and I started the flight around dusk so I could also get in some more “hood time” and practice IFR flight in case I ever got stuck in the clouds (plus there’s that 3 hour simulated instrument requirement too).  After taking off from Westosha, I slapped on the visor and proceeded to putz around by the instruments for half and hour.  By that time, it was night and my CFI had me approaching Galt Airport (10C) in Wonder Lake, Illinois.  Re-adjusting after hood time takes me a little time to catch my bearings again, but now that I had to reorder myself at night was especially challenging.  I was surprised at how close everything seems at night, the lake (Lake Michigan) seemed only a few miles away (when in actuality it was more like 30).  My CFI said to run the landings “cookbook style” and I hit my usual checkpoints for power, pitch, and flaps for the base leg and final.  The runway snuck up on me pretty quick right at the end, but I was able to flare enough to make actually a quite soft landing.

We worked the pattern at Galt 7 more times before heading back to Westosha.  Westosha is replacing it’s runway lights later this summer, and thank God for that!  Apparently some of the underground wiring is faulty and only 3 of the 14 runway works were operational.  Needless-to-say, it was crazy fun/hard to land really only seeing the 30 feet in front of my landing lights.  I managed though and got in 8 total landings at night.  I’ll finish the last 2 required landings during my dual night cross country soon.

Flying at night was definitely an experience, something very beautiful and peaceful about the whole thing.  I can’t wait for the cross country!  This lesson I logged 1.6 hours of total flight time, 0.5 with simulated instrument flight.

This past lesson was my first with simulated instrument flying (IFR), or “flying under the hood” (it’s really just a big visor). I heard and read all about relying 110% on your instruments when in the clouds/fog, but I never fully understood the truth behind that until now. At one point my CFI had me fly straight then close my eyes. Then, I had to perform small turns and “level the plane” by feeling. Upon opening my eyes, I found I was in a fairly steep descending right turn (and had I not had instruments to correct me, I would be a goner). Needless-to-say, it is indeed critical to solely trust your instruments when flying IFR …your body does get disoriented and your feelings become totally unreliable. Anyways, we flew around with me under the hood for 0.6 hours, then we worked our way back to Westosha using VOR navigation techniques. On final approach, my CFI had me flip off the IFR visor and I landed the plane visually (thankfully). Considering I had only about 2 minutes of full sight before landing, I was pretty satisfied with the quality of my touchdown.

Before flying, we actually also worked on my pre-solo written test. It wasn’t that hard as I’ve kept up on my textbook reading and it’s all stuff we’ve covered countless times during the lessons. Now all I need is another CFI to just do a quick “pre-solo check flight” with me (a rule of our flight club). Once that’s complete, my CFI said I’m totally ready to fly solo. Woohoo!

This lesson I logged 0.9 hours of total flight time.